Associate Professor of Chemistry, Biophysics Research
Division, Chemical Biology, Applied Physics, Cellular
& Molecular Biology Programs
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Our group's goal is to understand
the biological function of the vast new universe of non-protein
coding RNAs, or non-coding RNAs. In us humans, non-protein
coding RNAs outnumber protein-coding mRNAs by several-fold
and are involved in all aspects of the processing and
regulation of genetic information. Non-coding RNAs comprise,
for example, catalytic RNAs, such as the hammerhead, hairpin,
Varkud satellite and hepatitis delta virus ribozymes with
potential use in human gene therapy and relevance to human
disease; small interfering (si)RNAs and micro(mi)RNAs
involved in the eukaryotic defense against viruses and
in high-level gene regulation; riboswitches responsible
for gene regulation in bacteria and attractive as targets
for novel antibiotics; and large RNA-protein complexes
central to the processing of genetic information, such
as the ribosome and the spliceosome. In the Walter group,
we employ state-of-the-art biophysical tools, in particular
ensemble and single molecule fluorescence techniques as
well as molecular dynamics simulations, to study the biological
function of all of these non-coding RNAs in vitro and
in living cells. Graduate students acquire a broad set
of interdisciplinary skills with relevance to human disease,
high-throughput screening and biosensor applications. For
more information please see: http://www.umich.edu/~rnapeopl
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